This invention relates to a device for carrying a torch around a pipe in order to make an accurate circumferential cut in the pipe.
The quickest and surest prior art method of which I am aware for making such a cut incorporates a torch carriage mounted on four wheels which track along a strip of asbestos wrapped around the pipe to be cut. A cord also wrapped about the pipe holds the carriage against the pipe and in proper position over the asbestos track. The operator then moves the carriage and torch assembly manually around the pipe during the cutting operation. The torch is rigidly mounted at a fixed angle with respect to the carriage and cuts a bevelled edge on the pipe at that predetermined angle.
In use, the above discussed prior art apparatus has several drawbacks. In the first place, the necessity for initially wrapping the pipe with asbestos to form the guiding track entails the needless expenditure of a substantial amount of time and effort. The manual actuation of the carriage around the pipe can also be cumbersome and too inaccurate to provide a good cut. Finally, no adequate means has been provided for adjusting the angle between the torch's flame and the axis of the pipe to make cuts of different angularities.